Stress fracture risk analysis of the human femur based on computational biomechanics

The lack of predictive tools to assess the relative risk of stress fracture injury has posed a great challenge for military readiness and competitive athletic training. This article presents a methodology of assessing such risks using computational models and biomechanical stress analysis in a human femur. Preliminary results have demonstrated the capability of our methodology in studying the effect of risk factors as independent variables, which would be very difficult, if not impossible, to accomplish by any other means. We have shown that certain geometric features are significant risk factors for femoral neck stress fracture. Further development of our methodology will enable more accurate prediction of stress fracture risk and will help in the design of optimal training regimens to minimize the risk of injury.